Fraudulent waste boss gets seven years in the bin

A Leeds waste operator has been jailed for seven and a half years for defrauding the electrical waste recycling industry out of £2.2 million.

Terence Solomon Dugbo was given the record sentence for such a crime, after a major investigation into his company TLC Recycling Limited.

Dugbo falsely claimed the firm had recycled more than 19,500 tonnes of household electrical waste during 2011. In reality, he never handled anything near this amount of waste and was not entitled to the government cashback he received.

Documents show road names, collection vehicles and rubbish loads were carelessly falsified, with one record stating a moped carried 991 TVs and 413 fridges on a single journey.

Dugbo has previous convictions for fraud and illegally exporting hazardous waste, as well as being disqualified from acting as a company director due to previous debt.

“The length of the sentence handed out by the court today demonstrates the seriousness of Dugbo’s activities. Hopefully this case and the record sentence will act as a warning to others who commit waste crime that they will be pursued and if convicted, could face serious punishment.”